Jeweller - April Issue 2018

CHARM BRACELETS GET

CHARM BRACELETS GET Lucky with charms this season DURAFLEX NIKKI LISSONI THEY MAY BE SMALL BUT THEY’RE NOT TO BE IGNORED. ALEX EUGENE DISCOVERS WHY CHARMS ARE SO MUCH MORE THAN A PASSING FAD. K Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter children’s book series, first received a charm bracelet when she was just five years old. Remembering the event in 2013 for Harper’s Bazaar, she wrote, “I had never been given anything more beautiful.” Later in life, when the seventh Harry Potter book was released, Rowling’s editor gave her what would become “my most treasured piece of jewellery: a bracelet covered in gold and silver charms from the books. There was a tiny Golden Snitch, a silver Ford Anglia, a Pensieve and a stag Patronus. There was even a Philosopher’s Stone in the form of an uncut garnet.” Like her books, Rowling’s personal story will hit a note for millions of people everywhere: charms have been made and worn for deeply personal reasons since the earliest times. And for retailers today, there’s no better item that taps into the highly emotional market of jewellery, but also presents an opportunity for repeat business on a regular basis. IN THE HISTORY BOOKS “The charm concept has been part of human history going back to prehistoric times,” Isaac Jewellery director Annet Atakliyan explains. “The need to keep things close to the body – individual treasure, things of beauty, cherished memories and marking prominent moments in life – was always met through charm jewellery.” Indeed, ancient charms have been discovered that were made from shells, wood and bone long before fine jewellery existed. Christians used tiny fish charms hidden inside their cloaks to identify themselves to each other during the Roman Empire’s reign, between 64 AD and 313 AD. Today it remains popular to wear charms as a symbol of personal meaning. Small and delicate, they have a unique ability to capture significant moments in life. This, combined with the sheer diversity of designs on the market, makes charms a highly “collectable concept” that perfectly suits the personalised jewellery consumer, says Phil Edwards, managing director of Duraflex. “For consumers, the appeal of this category is the unique product concepts, which allow wearers to celebrate their own personality and diversity – there are innumerable jewellery combinations possible,” he explains. Ken Abbott, managing director of Timesupply, echoes the sentiment with regard to the Nomination bracelets, which feature unique interchangeable links. “Being able to create stories link by link with endless combinations for women, men, girls and boys allows the wearer to express their personality using an icon based language.” Edwards adds there is further appeal for retailers: “Charm bracelets and bangles make the perfect gift, which can then be added to with additional charms to celebrate birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Christmas and more. This generates customer loyalty and ignites consumers passion for a brand.” THE QUIET ACHIEVER In a price line-up, charms might seem negligible alongside engagement rings and other big sellers; however, it’s this very affordability that means customers are more likely to buy more than one and come back frequently. Pandora has built an empire on these tiny heroes. The company’s managing director, Mikael Kruse Jensen, admits that Pandora harnessed “a magic formula in increasing customer basket size and engaging in a long-term relationship with the customer”. “Charms as a concept is built on gifting and repeat purchases. With Pandora, consumers want to fill their bracelets and create different looks according to their 26 JewellerApril2018